Mentally And Physically Tough

Gusties Fall to St. Olaf 4-1

A soggy ground and a difficult opponent were on the docket for the Gustavus Women's Soccer team on Saturday.  The Gusties did not let the ground or the rivalry with St. Olaf impact their mindsets.  They were focused and ready to play.  The St. Olaf forwards proved hard to contain, with Ole Kajsa Brindley breaking loose early and putting away three goals in the first half.  Despite deficit, the Gusties never slowed their offensive creativity and push to attack.

The second half proved more even with the Gusties finding their offensive stride.  Varying their attack to adapt to the Oles style of defense, the forwards and midfielders found more success and chances on net.  At the same time, the Gustavus defense got stingy and put the Oles on hold for most of the second half.  Each team finding the back of the net once, with Gustavus first year Moni Pelkey earning her second goal of the season and her career.  The creativity of the forwards and midfielders allowed the space to open up for Pelkey on the top of the 18 yard box, who made no mistake and put it away.  The resiliency and drive of the Gustavus Women's Soccer team is strong and unwavering proving they will not let down until the final minute of play.

Box Score

Three First Half Goals Push St. Olaf Past Women’s Soccer 4-1

Posted on October 5th, 2013 by Tyler Grey

Monica Pelkey scored her second career goal on Saturday.

Northfield, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team gave up three first half goals on the way to a 4-1 loss to St. Olaf on Saturday at Rolf Mellby Field.  Kajsa Brindley proved to be too much for the Gusties handle in the match, as she scored all four goals for the Oles.  With the loss, Gutavus falls to 5-5-0 overall (1-4-0 MIAC), while St. Olaf improves to 6-4-0 overall (4-1-0 MIAC).

Brindley came out to score two quick goals in the opening 10 minutes to help the Oles jump out to an early 2-0 lead.  Her first goal came at the 3:26 mark, while her second goal followed at 9:38.

Later in the half, the sophomore was awarded a penalty kick that she did not let go to waste.  Brindley put the ball away in the back of the net to give St. Olaf a 3-0 lead at the 29:41 mark.  Gustavus would push back with a scoring chance before the end of the half, but could not put it away as the two teams went to the break with the score 3-0 in favor of the Oles.

“Their forward movement made our backline porous in the first half,” stated Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie of the opening 45 minutes.  “Credit needs to be given to Kajsa Brindley for St. Olaf who did very well to finish her chances.”

Brindley added one more goal in the 62nd minute to extend the St. Olaf lead to 4-0, a deficit that proved to be too much to overcome for Gustavus.

The Gusties found something to cheer about in the final minute, however.  Brittany Chase (So., Victoria, Minn.) created space for Amanda Cartony (Sr., Stillwater, Minn.) to drive inside and draw two defenders before dishing off to Monica Pelkey (Fy., Oak Grove, Minn.) just outside the 18-yard line.  Pelkey let one rip that found its way past St. Olaf goalkeeper Nora Forbes and into the back of the net to cut the score to 4-1.  For Pelkey, it was her second goal in as many matches.

“We stuck to our game and it eventually paid off as we continued to push forward and improve our movement on and off the ball in the second half,” mentioned Burnett-Kurie.  “Despite the deficit at half, we never put our heads down.  Mentally it’s tough to continue to fight when the scoreboard reads 4-0, but today we truly fought to the end and saw our hard work pay off in the final minute.”

Gustavus will be back in action next Saturday, Oct. 12th when it hosts St. Thomas at the Gustie Soccer Field on Family Weekend.  Saturday will also serve as “Alumni Day” for the women’s soccer team.  Kick off is set for 1:00 p.m.

“Going into our next game against St. Thomas there is plenty to be pleased about, especially with how Amanda Cartony has been pioneering our attack as the playmaker who continually generates dangerous opportunities,” finished Burnett-Kurie.  “Plus, with the creativity displayed by our players in not only joining the attack, but with the ball in the final third, we are excited to see what we can continue to build.